Kevin McKidd and Laura Fraser have joined the cast of The Young Team, the BBC’s new six-part adaptation of Graeme Armstrong’s acclaimed novel, as filming officially gets underway in North Lanarkshire. Set in Airdrie, the series follows 15-year-old Alan ‘Azzy’ Williams, played by Jakob James Smith, as he tries to earn his place in local gang the Young Team Posse, known as the YTP. As Azzy becomes more involved in the world around him, a violent conflict begins to threaten him and his friends.

Kevin McKidd, known for Grey’s Anatomy, will play Azzy’s headteacher Mr McGiver, an important influence in his life, while Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Laura Fraser plays his mother Angela.

Smith leads a young Scottish cast that also includes Connor Newall as Big Kenzie and Scot Greenan as Eck. Beinn Catchpole, David Russell, Mick Mack, Caiden Henderson-Brown, Lewis Ray and Jack Mooney will play other members of the YTP after being discovered through an open casting process across North Lanarkshire.

More than 1,000 young people applied during the search, with the production looking for performers who could bring the language and community at the centre of Armstrong’s novel to the screen. Filming is also taking place in the areas where the story itself is set.

Armstrong, who grew up in North Lanarkshire and drew on his own experiences for the 2020 novel, has adapted The Young Team for television alongside Gillian Roger Park and Robert Florence. Glasgow-based Synchronicity Films, whose previous work includes Mayflies, The Cry and The Tattooist of Auschwitz, is producing the six hour-long episodes.

Paul McGuigan will direct the first three episodes, marking his first time directing in Scotland in 30 years. Andrew Cumming will then direct Episodes 4 to 6. McGuigan described the production as his “professional homecoming” and praised the new generation of working-class Scottish talent discovered through the casting process.

For CultureCues, we are really looking forward to this one. For me personally, as the founder and editor of CultureCues, it feels even more special because North Lanarkshire is home, so seeing a story rooted there being made for the BBC, filmed in the area and giving young local actors these opportunities is massive. I love this for Scotland, I love that Graeme Armstrong is adapting his own story, and Kevin McKidd and Laura Fraser joining the cast is brilliant. We cannot wait to see this one come together. Come on, lads.

The Young Team will air on BBC One and BBC Scotland and stream on BBC iPlayer.

More From CultureCues

Where to Watch Crystal Lake in the UK: All 8 Episodes Are Out Now on Sky and NOW

Baywatch Reboot Trailer Arrives as Sky Confirms January 2027 UK Release

The Galway Bay Murders: Kate Mulgrew Leads New ITV Crime Drama